Holy Fire (CD)

Foals

Amoeba Review

02/11/2013

After debuting as part of the ’00s dance-rock pack, Foals augmented their sound, making it darker and more epic on 2010’s Total Life Forever, a process they further on Holy Fire. “Inhaler” moves along a slow dance beat with guitar noise that builds from delicate background pieces to shoegaze squall to heavy riffery. “My Number” and “Bad Habit” rely more heavily on the first part of that equation, offering cooing dance-rock with enough depth for indie kids and enough heartiness to please fans of bands like The Killers and Bloc Party. Though they’re clearly attempting more of a crossover, as Holy Fire progresses, Foals sound more and more dedicated to utilizing synthesizers and atmospherics, as well as frontman Yannis Philippakis’ throaty, earnest vocals, to create a statement of more lasting purpose. When they let go of some of the arena ambitions, as on spacious power ballads like “Milk & Black Spiders” and “Stepson,” they achieve that end.